Pride and Ownership

This weekend Lynchburg's Local 1146 in conjuction with the Lynchburg Fire Department hosted retired Chief Rick Lasky's Pride and Ownership seminar held at CVCC. What an incredible presentation by Chief Lasky! If you haven't read his book (you should) the seminar basically covered what he writes about in his book, "Pride and Ownership". The guys from Station 1-C made a good showing on Friday, and I gotta say, if you get an opportunity to hear him speak, either at FDIC or anywhere else...GO TO IT! If you have ever lost sight of why you are in the fire service, no doubt hearing his guy will amp you up! The room was packed with foks from all over VA and a few from W.VA, and NC. This was a great time to see old friends and make new ones and hear about how and why WE ARE in the best profession in the world.

In other news, I've been on a stretch of riding the medic unit due to vacations and go-aways, so theres not too much to report on the station front. We've got a couple weeks of Tech Rescue Training ahead of us, going away to some special classes and doing some in-station stuff, so I'll be sure to post all of that as it comes.

Cya next time!

C-Shift catches late morning job

It seems that the rest of the shifts are handing over the reigns of firefighting to C-shift, which in my opinion, is probably the best thing (no offense). Battalion 1 C-shifters were punched out for a working for a fire in a multiple occupany. The run card looked something like this: E2, E1, E6, R1, T1 (reserve)(we'll discuss the joy of riding in this beast shortly), M6, B1, B2, EMS-2, and Safety 1. E2 arrived first with a report of nothing showing on arrival. Shortly after, they noticed brown and black smoke issuing from the 2nd floor hallway. During investigation, they forced a 2nd floor door and found a unit well off. E2 and E6 put a knock on the fire while E1 provided RIT. T1 and R1 searched all units and ventilated. Extensive overhaul was performed and units were able to clear. Thanks to the Admin staff below St. 1 for turning off our oven and saving 4.5 lbs of bacon, which was later able to be used for delicious BLT's. This may or may not have been my responsibility...

As I mentioned earlier, T1 is out for yearly PM getting some work done and we're currently using T3 which is a reserve Simon- Duplex LTI. Judging by how fast she went to that fire I would guestimate she was made sometime in and around the early 1920's, which would explain why the speedometer never passed 25mph. Then again, this is the "Hill City". All in all, it gets the job done. In other news, St. 1-C would like to welcome Charlie Shealy and Jeremy Pillow to the roster. Shealy is probably the saltiest firefighter I have ever met, and Pillow is probably the most hyper (highly intelligent as well). All kidding aside, both of these guys bring a high level of expertise that will be well utilized here downtown.

If you don't know, Lynchburg just started EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching) and I will say (not bragging) but I did run the first call under the new dispatching while covering for a guy on M7. Hopefully, this new dispatching will prioritize medical calls better and deliver the appropriate responses. T1 finished the night with an elevator entrapment at a local nursing home and vehicle entrapment in 3's territory.